Kalie Shorr Is as Bad as She Wants to Be In ‘My Voice’ Video
She's calling out the music industry in this edgy clip.
Kalie Shorr speaks volumes with her bold new video for “My Voice,” calling out gender discrimination and the mistreatment of women in the music industry.
Mixing a punk-rock edge with the personal writing of country tradition, the song is an unflinching indictment of the way women are pushed around in the music business — and especially Shorr’s experience in country. She sings of being advised to “sit on a few laps” to win radio favor and cover up her tattoos for the Grand Ole Opry, but ultimately refuses to play by anyone else’s rules. And likewise, her edgy video finds Shorr owning her image.
Directed by Tyler Dunning Evans, the gritty clip recalls the iconic videos of grunge and alternative rock stars in the 1990s, and finds Shorr being as “bad” as she wants to be. She takes over a dingy motel and goes full Led Zeppelin on it, trashing the tiny room and turning the bathtub into a jacuzzi, and basically acting like the roadside stop is her own private Hollywood mansion. And maybe that’s a metaphor for the thrill she gets from her own career, regardless of what others think she should do.
“This video is so different than any I’ve ever done for so many reasons,” Shorr says in a press release. “Obviously, it was shot during a pandemic so we had to be really intentional about it and prioritize safety, which I’m happy to say we did. The team was so amazing to work with. It’s also so out of my comfort zone — I wanted to challenge myself to do something different. Tyler and I were really inspired by Fiona Apple and Radiohead, and wanted to bring that ‘90s effortless edge to the aesthetic. Shooting at the Dive Motel felt so perfect. Shooting this video really made me laugh because I was like ‘Wait, is dancing around in my underwear and drinking tequila in a bathtub my job?’ But like … where is the lie? It was just so fun.”
“Too rock for country, too country for punk / But who said I had to pick either one /Tattoos at the Opry, I could cover ‘em up but it’s not me / If I stick to the script when I’m talking / Sit on some laps then my song’ll go top ten / Nashville’s cranking out Chryslers just like it’s Detroit / But guess what I can’t change, the sound of my voice,” goes the free spirited chorus hook.
“My Voice” appears on Shorr’s debut album, Open Book, which was released in 2019, and also shows up on the album’s just-release extended version. Open Book: Unabridged was released December 4, adding four new songs to the set.
